I have recently agreed to begin a semi-regular section of this website where I will contribute articles on all things beer. I do need some help coming up with topics though. This would surely make the submissions more tailored to this sites users and their needs. I also like to be supplied with topics because sometimes they allow me to revisit things that I have not thought about for a while. For me, this is a great way to solidify my knowledge and often learn new things that I would be happy to pass on.

Please post some ideas of how this section could work to your benefit, some topics that you want to explore in more depth than a forum thread allows, beer styles you wish to explore, general beer knowledge, beer history... anything BEER.

I thought as a starter, I might do a series on how I brew at my brewery, which is unique even to most pro breweries being that I use open fermentation (jump in here fraoch)and the use of ugly "grundy" tanks as conditioning vessels and bright tanks that were actually designed for the dairy industry.

A section on different mashing techniques, (ie. infusion, and decoction), their advantages and disadvantages, how these techniques work scientifically, and the beer these techniques produce would be an interesting topic.

Interested in your comparisons between open and closed fermentation Messa,any notable flavour differences???maybe yeast performance? And yes, id be interested in your brewing method to compare to mine.Do you skim or "drop" to 2ndary?And at what stage. By the way,, good to see you back.
Cheers, Fraoch cccccc

How but the business side of a commercial brewery? How tough is it to start up, what are the keys to having a successful operation; distribution; competition? How about looking at how the crafts deal with the majors' market domination? I am not sure how it works in the USA, but I know Canada has some issues that seriously affect craft brewers.

A pain in the @#$ to clean and the clamp type are outright dangerous! A photo tour and discription of the equipment would be helpfull to the brewers that have not been able to tour a working brewery. I think that style histories would help the brewers understand how the styles evolved.

I just love the look of those old grundy tanks. It does sound like they are a pain to deal with compared to newer bright beer tanks. I always wanted to brew in a pub with grundy's just so I could offer a flagship brew called "Solomon's Grundy Pale". If you didn't grow up reading Silver Age Superman comics, this would be lost on you - but for the 10% of you out there in my target demographic, I swear it'd slay you.

I would really enjoy a section that focused on how to put it all together...converted kegs, appropriate plumbing for all-grain systems, fermenting in fridges, kegs in freezers, storing grain, maybe even how to grow and store hops, and yeast culturing. Just an idea,
Kate

Have you ever cleaned a grundy tank? They are cute little tanks but have some interesting charateristics. There are two types of cover designs for these tanks, screw knob or clamp type hold downs. The safer of the two types are the ones with the screw down covers. I have read two articles and listened to two stories about Grundy tank mishaps (to put it mildly). I will agree that most are brewer error. Grundies are not AMSE rated as "high" pressure vessels (anything above 15 PSI) but most brewers 'dime' the relief valves and push the pressure up (I observed 35 PSI during my apprenticship). Even with the screw down cover pressure control is difficult. Most unitank and dish bottom tank hatches seal using the pressure exerted for inside the tank. Grundies rely on the mechanical sealing ability of that top cover and the gasket.

They can be purchased cheaply but could could cost you in the long run. One idea would be to plumb some stainless pipe through them and use the tank as an in-line chiller to run you "Solomon's Grundy Pale" through on its journey to the bar. Would you feel bad fibbing?
If you can ever find a "blue glass" lined tank in servicable condition, now your lagering (not as 'pretty' as a grundy but good tanks), one problem is that they only come in large sizes. If I ever open a brewery I want to have space for both unitanks and horizontal lagering tanks. I may also leave room for a lauter tun in addition to an infusion mash tun. I didn't really like Newlands layout for a hybrid system.

This is an aside to the main thread, and is a continuation of the digression on unsafe brewing practices. Two vinters up in Oliver BC just died two days ago after falling in to fermentation tanks. The owner of the winery was inspecting the progress of his batch when he fell in to the fermentor. His coworker, the brewing expert, tried to come to his rescue, but he too fell in to the vessel. Both were overcome by fumes and drowned. The tank was drained and had to be cut open to retrieve the bodies. Sad story, but I guess nobody ever said brewing was easy.

I have a cheap grain source from a maltster in Ontario if I buy 25 kilos at a time or more. It brews really good beer but I wonder about the other two row and six row malts from around the world and what they would do for my beer. Just curious. I have also found a real lack of information on how to go about growing and malting my own barley. It may be a maltster's secret, but I would really like some hardcore info on this topic as I have access to a small crop food drier and am thinking about growing a small plot of barley.

Malt specifications is one subject home brewers and some craft brewers take for granted. Here is the web address for the American Malting Barley accociation (www.ambainc.org). This site has information for the professional growers and maltsters. It also includes the spec sheet by variety/year. They have some listing for Canada. I checked the Alberta malting barley statistics for 2002/2003, there is a lot of information.